Respond to comments on your project. What is the difference between source and textual criticism? Summarize Tobit, and what is the main lesson of this story? Why do some people consider the Maccabees to be heroic.

I have not received any comments on my Week 9 Blog, but I will respond to the new comments that I received on my Week 3 Blog.  I would like to thank everyone for commenting on my blogs.  All the comments really helped in figuring out how I could improve my project.  Because of the GREAT comments that I have received on my project, I have came up with innovative ways on how to improve it.  So I want to thanks all of my classmates who took time out to read and respond to my blogs!

Jenniferpellittieri:  Thanks for the comment Jennifer.  I am sure that you know first hand about the people that are being affected by the lack of healthcare.  Some people have to make decisions between medicine and groceries, and I m pretty sure that it may be hard for you, being a Pharmacy Tech, to witness that because there is nothing you can do about it.  I am hoping that those people who are in that type of situation take this opportunity to receive better help.  Thanks again for your comment and good luck on your project!

Dwhite:  Thanks for your comment!  The event that took place was informative, but we did have prizes and games there.  I am currently thinking of more ideas to put into the next event to make it more successful.  I will take into consideration everything you said.  Thanks for the comment and good luck with your project!

Kateyjames:  Thanks Katey!  Posting flyers and posters are a great way to get the word out.  I just hope that people do not pass by the information posted and disregard it because everything that is done is only done to help.  But thanks for the comment and good luck on your project as well!

Jivory1:  You are absolutely right.  People are lazy and expect everyone else to do things for them.  The help is out there, but people just do not go after it.  So if they want to be lazy there is not too much I can do about it because I am trying to give them the help they need.  But I would feel bad if someone missed out on an opportunity for help.  But thanks for the comment and good luck on your project!

Yaesha:  Thanks for the comment!  I am really trying my hardest to help people.  I do not know personally how it feels to be uninsured, but I know that it is a hard life to live because medical attention is expensive.  Good luck on your project!

            The main difference between source and textual criticism is the way it is interpreted. For source criticism, you are reading a text from somewhere and trying to figure out where it came from and what time period it came from also. The sources you find may not always be correct though because people have their own opinions and may write it down to be a fact or so. Textual criticism concentrates on the text when it was first written. The scholars want to see it in its original state so that they know it hasn’t been altered in some kind of way. If they can see it in its original form, they can interpret the text for themselves. One of the best ways to know that it’s in its original form is that the shorter and more complicated the sentence, the more authentic it is. When people read something that sounds complicating, they tend to change it to make sense to them and allow other people to understand it as well.                                                                                 The story of Tobit is about a man who’s job was burring the dead. One day Tobit awakens and find that his eyesight is gone and wants to kill himself. At the same time in a city called Media, a woman named Sarah wants to die also. Sarah is cursed with the demon of lust and therefore has been married seven times and is still a virgin. Sarah is still a virgin because with every marriage before their honeymoon, the demon Asmodeus kills her husband. While both Tobit and Sarah are praying to die god sends the angel of healing, Rapheal. Tobit sends his son Tobias to Media to take care of some business along with Rapheal. On their trip they encounter a fish that tries to take Rapheal’s life but the defeat the fish taking it’s heart, liver, and gall bladder. Rapheal meets Sarah and falls in love with her, they get married. Asmodeus leaves Sarah and her new husband alone because of the fish’s heart, liver, and gall bladder. They go back to home and rub the fish parts in Tobit’s eyes. The message of this story is that everything will be alright in the end God has a plan for why things happen.
            Some people consider the Maccabees to be heroic because they overthrew the Seleucid dynasty and the Jews reestablished the Israel for a little over a hundred years.
Jewish people were forbidden to practice their religion in the Seleucid empire. Mattathias led the uprising against the empire. He refused to worship the Greek gods and killed a Jew who had converted to Hellenism for worshipping an idol. He escaped to the wilderness with his sons. When he died, his son Judah Maccabee led the people into revolt again and overthrew the Seleucids. He cleansed the temple and made Jewish religious practices prominent in Jerusalem again. This is a very important victory for the Jews and is celebrated by Hanukkah.
            The Maccabees were definitely heroic because it not only takes power, but a lot of faith to revolt against an empire, especially when you are under constant persecution. Throughout history, the Jews were constantly being conquered and forced to assimilate. However, the Maccabees refused to assimilate and rightfully reclaimed their religious practices and freedom. This is a heroic thing to do in any case, not only this one.

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